Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I know that the member for Hinkler, in his heart of hearts, will support production tax credits as well. That's because he understands more about industry than the people who sit on their front bench who say no. That is probably why he sits up the back—because he has some knowledge of industry.

But it is quite extraordinary that the Leader of the Opposition went to Western Australia a short time ago and hinted that maybe there might be a bit of movement there at the same time as the shadow Treasurer was saying, 'No, this is billions for billionaires as far as we are concerned,' having no understanding of the benefits that this could give. This is about government not replacing private investment; it's about government being a catalyst for investment, unlocking the private capital to build new projects, create new jobs and drive growth and prosperity and doing so in a way that better aligns our national security with our economic security, just as the US, the UK, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Canada and so many nations around the world are doing, safeguarding themselves against the next global shock, whether it's conflict, a pandemic, a cyber attack or another international energy crisis.

This bill recognises the global economic reality, the investments other advanced economies are making in their industrial growth and the commitment that 92 per cent of the world economy has made to net zero, including 97 per cent of Australia's trading partners. In order to reach their goal, these countries will need more clean energy, more solar power, more wind power, more batteries and storage, and more of the resources—critical minerals and rare earths—that all this technology depends on. In other words, the world needs what Australia has.

That presents our nation with a choice that will define the future of our economy. We can choose to carry on as we are, to stay in our lane and be satisfied with our lot and watch the world move past us, or we can actually move forward. We, of course, can continue to extract our resources. We'll continue to export them. But, where possible, why wouldn't we want to add the value and create the jobs and make the products before others sell them back to us at a premium price? How is that controversial in this parliament in 2024? We can remain the last link in the global supply chain, with all the risks that carries in a more uncertain world, or we can aim for something better. We can make things here. We can add value here. We can turn the resources that the world needs into the products that the world wants. We can build an economy where manufacturing is every bit as strong as mining and where Australian researchers and innovators can commercialise their ideas here and turn discovery into industry. In doing so, we can bring a new generation of secure, well-paid jobs to our regions and our suburbs alike.

If you look back to the creation of the car-manufacturing industry under John Curtin and Ben Chifley and their vision for national reconstruction after the Second World War, you see there is an economic multiplier effect. But, importantly, Curtin appointed Chifley as the Minister for Postwar Reconstruction at the height of World War II. That's vision. That's making sure that you look forward and plan for it and invest in it, because the truth is that there is an economic multiplier effect with all of this. It's always more than the sum of the parts. It's an ecosystem of jobs, skills, innovation and small businesses. This is where we want a more diversified and more decentralised economy, where workers and communities in every part of the country share in this opportunity. That's the purpose of the community benefit principles in this bill—making sure that new investment in new projects flows into local jobs, apprenticeships and supply chains, strengthening regional centres and, as I said at Garma earlier this month, bringing new economic empowerment to remote Indigenous communities so that new energy projects and new defence and security projects across northern and central Australia bring new careers in construction, renewable energy, the care economy, technology, infrastructure and resources to First Nations people, overcoming entrenched disadvantage, delivering new self determination and creating intergenerational opportunity.

Our vision for a future made in Australia is about every part of Australia: securing Gladstone's future as a global hub for clean energy and green industry; expanding medical manufacturing in Victoria; revitalising the Upper Spencer Gulf in South Australia as a producer of green iron, steel and cement; re-energising the Hunter Valley with new jobs in technology and manufacturing; and enabling workers across WA to extract critical minerals but also process and refine them and turn them into products—because that's what Australia can do that other countries can't. We have that combination of resources, skills, workers, space and sunlight to co-locate those links across the value chain, cutting transport costs, cutting energy costs, cutting emissions both here and abroad, and creating a new comparative advantage that gives Australian manufacturing and Australian workers the capacity not just to compete but to succeed. We are in that position.

Those opposite want to just talk Australia down. I want to build Australia up, to seize the opportunities which are there. This bill is at the heart of our government's vision for a stronger, more prosperous, more resilient and more diversified Australian economy. It reflects our confidence in Australian workers; our respect for Australian scientists and innovators; our belief in the boundless potential of our regions and our resources; our support for the Australian private sector; and our determination to work with business and industry to bring jobs and opportunity to every part of our country, to make the most of this moment and to make more things here. Above all, this bill speaks to our unwavering determination to shape the future, not wait for the future to shape us. That is where the choice for those opposite is crystal clear. You can't build a future with negativity. You can't shape change if you're afraid of it. You can't create good jobs if you're opposed to fair pay and conditions. And you can't pretend to be for Queensland or Western Australia or growth or investment if you're against the jobs and investment this legislation will deliver.

Over the past two years, it's become clear that the biggest threat to Australian jobs and investment is not international uncertainty nor changes in the global economy. The biggest threat and the greatest risk to Australia's future are the Liberal and National parties. They voted against the National Reconstruction Fund. They voted against energy bill relief. They say that fee-free TAFE is a waste of money. They attack the CSIRO. They call Australian manufacturing a graveyard. They bag production tax credits as corporate welfare. And, a decade after the then Liberal Treasurer stood at this dispatch box and dared Holden to pack up and leave, they still brag about driving the car industry out of Australia, and now they want to sacrifice a new generation of manufacturing jobs all in the name of their obsession with nuclear power.

Consider the contrast. This legislation is about unlocking private investment in jobs and industry and energy around our nation. On that side, the Liberals can't find one single investor for even one of their nuclear reactors. They talk about picking winners; they're going to pick the winners to have nuclear reactors. This is about driving the private sector. They're going to charge the whole lot to the taxpayer even while refusing to tell people how much it will cost to build these reactors or how long it will take—at least 20 years! And, if all that is done, it will deliver a measly four per cent of the energy that Australia needs, costing at least three times over the cost of construction and the cost of higher energy bills but, importantly, the opportunity cost as well—the jobs, investment, energy and certainty that Australia would miss out on right now. That is the price our nation would pay for turning away from our unbeatable natural advantages to instead go chasing after something that takes longer, costs more and delivers less.

Let there be no doubt about it: this is a decisive decade for our nation's future. We are in our moment right now, and we must seize it. We have everything that the world wants. There is nowhere you'd rather be than us with the space that we have, the best solar resources in the world, the best wind resources in the world, the best scientists in the world and the best resources under the ground that the world needs—the resources that will drive the global economy in the 21st century. The only thing that Australia does not have is time to waste, so, with optimism, with determination and with purpose, I commend this bill for a future made in Australia to this House.

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